Photo Credit: Courtesy of Franklin Parks Department
The city of Franklin, Tenn. found a unique way to blend a parks sports facility with urban forestry by incorporating a low-impact disc-golf course into an underutilized area within a park.
Located on the east side of town, Liberty Park is 75 acres with heavily wooded land in the back 15 acres. With elevation changes of 100 to 200 feet and uneven terrain, the city’s parks department envisioned a disc-golf course as a great use for the area. With the help of the Williamson County Disc Golf Association, a 10-hole course was designed and construction was underway in fall 2008. The parks department saw this as a great opportunity to implement sustainable practices, employee training and public education while managing an urban forest.
A Multi-Use Venue
The city’s arborist, Todd Snackenberg, used the course-development area to conduct chainsaw safety and train park employees. As the staff gained experience, training moved toward work sessions to remove dead or dying trees throughout the course. Non-native invasive species also were targeted for removal. Great care was taken to remove as little native material as possible and to leave the area in its natural state. The fairways and access paths were lined with the large and medium trees that were removed from the course.